Does reusable mean green? Comparison of the environmental impact of reusable operating room bed covers and lift sheets versus single-use.

Autor: Chang JH; Cleveland Clinic, Department of General Surgery, Cleveland, OH, USA; Yale University, School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: Changj7@ccf.org., Woo KP; Cleveland Clinic, Department of General Surgery, Cleveland, OH, USA., Silva de Souza Lima Cano N; University of Pittsburgh, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Bilec MM; University of Pittsburgh, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Camhi M; Cleveland Clinic, Lerner Research Institute, Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland, OH, USA., Melnyk AI; Cleveland Clinic, Department of Urogynecology, Cleveland, OH, USA., Gross A; Cleveland Clinic, Department of General Surgery, Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Clinic, Safety, Quality, Patient Experience, Digestive Disease Institute, Cleveland, OH, USA., Walsh RM; Cleveland Clinic, Department of General Surgery, Cleveland, OH, USA., Asfaw SH; Cleveland Clinic, Department of General Surgery, Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Clinic, Safety, Quality, Patient Experience, Digestive Disease Institute, Cleveland, OH, USA., Gordon IO; Cleveland Clinic, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Clinic, Sustainability, Cleveland, OH, USA., Miller BT; Cleveland Clinic, Department of General Surgery, Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Clinic, Safety, Quality, Patient Experience, Digestive Disease Institute, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The surgeon : journal of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Ireland [Surgeon] 2024 Aug; Vol. 22 (4), pp. 236-241. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 10.
DOI: 10.1016/j.surge.2024.05.003
Abstrakt: Introduction: As hospitals strive to reduce their environmental footprint, there is an ongoing debate over the environmental implications of reusable versus disposable linens in operating rooms (ORs). This research aimed to compare the environmental impact of reusable versus single-use OR bed covers and lift sheets using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology.
Methods: LCA is an established tool with rigorous methodology that uses science-based processes to measure environmental impact. This study compared the impacts of three independent system scenarios at a single large academic hospital: reusable bed covers with 50 laundry cycles and subsequent landfill disposal (System 1), single-use bed covers with waste landfill disposal (System 2), and single-use bed covers with waste disposal using incineration (System 3).
Results: The total carbon footprint of System 1 for 50 uses was 19.83 ​kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 -eq). System 2 generated 64.99 ​kg CO 2 -eq. For System 3, the total carbon footprint was 108.98 ​kg CO 2 -eq. The raw material extraction for all the material to produce an equivalent 50 single-use OR bed cover kits was tenfold more carbon-intensive than the reusable bed cover. Laundering one reusable OR bed cover 50 times was more carbon intensive (12.12 ​kg CO2-eq) than landfill disposal of 50 single-use OR bed covers (2.52 ​kg CO2-eq).
Discussion: Our analysis demonstrates that one reusable fabric-based OR bed cover laundered 50 times, despite the carbon and water-intensive laundering process, exhibits a markedly lower carbon footprint than its single-use counterparts. The net difference is 45.16 ​kg CO2-eq, equivalent to driving 115 miles in an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle. This stark contrast underscores the efficacy of adopting reusable solutions to mitigate environmental impact within healthcare facilities.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no financial disclosures nor conflicts of interest to report.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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